A linguistic and cultural comparison of haitian creole and louisiana creole

Abstract

"It has been claimed that refugees of the Haitian Revolution imported the creole language spoken in Louisiana to the colony during the first decade of the 19th century. These more than seven thousand speakers of Saint Domingue Creole probably did impact Louisiana Creole, but there is evidence to show that a creole language existed in Louisiana prior to this flood of immigration (Klingler 25). Louisiana Creole has existed as a stable, autonomous language since the late 18th century, but whether it is indigenous to Louisiana or developed out of a pre-existing pidgin or creole brought from Africa or the Caribbean has been a subject of debate (91). In If I Could Turn My Tongue Like That: The Creole Language of Pointe Coupee Parish Louisiana, Thomas A. Klingler asserts that neither the demographic nor linguistic record suggests that the language was imported. It seems more likely that it arose along the plantations of the Mississippi River, spreading outward to areas such as Bayou Teche (92). Thus, the French-lexifier creoles of Haiti and Louisiana were born of similar roots in different New World soils, yet their linguistic development varied due to the social factors surrounding their growth. These social factors have led the two creoles to an historical space in which one enjoys popularity unknown to any other creole language in the world and the other faces extinction."